Gyratory valve disk



G. H. MOLDEN 2,283,452

GYRATORY VALVE DISK May 19, l1942.

`Filed Aug. lO, 1940 spalle.

vPatented May 19, 1942 GYRATORY VALVE DISK George H. Moldon, Bridgeport, Conn., assigner to 'The Sprague Meter Company,

Conn., acorporation of Connecticut Bridgeport,

.Application August V10, 1940, Serial No. 352,067

8 Claims.

This invention relates .to improved constructionsin composite valve disks of the general type disclosed in Y my United States Patent No. 1,586,685, granted June 1, 1926. The centrally apertured body of -such a disk gyrates edgewise so that its bottom flat face constantly Wipes against the co-planar valve seat forming edges of upstanding partitions-bordering around the mouths of adjacentjvertical passageways which give to and from the various measuring chambers -of the Sprague type of gas meter. Certaininner and outer circumferentialedges ofthe disk thus pass over and successively cover Aand `uncover these passageway mouths `in`a"manner to govern the sequence and relative rates vof flow with which gas is taken into and let out of the measuring chambers.

My former said patent-emphasizes'the importance of lightness of weight and simplicity of construction in a composite valve disk'for thisY enough to be self rigid, and another of Awhose parts may comprise preferably '-a light Weight cap.

diaphragm-likemoof Wall into oblique inclination Vto true .horizontal when iimpelling force .for gyratingthe disk edgewise is applied to the before mentioned crank impelled boss.

A further `object is to employstiffeningmeans which `at thesame time shall Y.provide -a retain- -ing pocketor pockets .for .catching-fand holding deposits of oil or lforeign substance .that may iind their way ontothe Ytop of the disk-cap, so that such deposits Will be prevented from working their wayradially outward toanddown over the edge of the disk and thustonto the valve seat forming edges of the Dartitiontops.

A furtherobjectlis to .provide the'cap member of the composite disk -with Aadditional means to retain vagrant lubricating material and foreign Y deposits which `may .haveescaped the .aforesaid of thin sheet material as for instance pliant" metal overlying and'secured against the top face -of theglass ring and spanning'orroong over the central aperture therein. In actualfpractice it has proven desirable to stiffen the thin horizon-1.a;`

tal diaphragm-like `portion or roof Vwall of 'such` "i Acap by employing'extra reinforcingparts in order more iirmly to support a crank pin impelledboss by which the disk is gyrated However, the use of such extra parts objectionably 'increases;

rweight and complicates assembly. Also in` prior10 constructions, oil and foreign substanceslodging on top of the cap have been able to worktheir way down over the peripheral cap vedge and thereby accumulate on and rfoul the yvalve fseat -1 forming edges or partition -topswhichare sweptf 'by the bottom or seat wiping surface'of theglas ring.

One object of theipresent:improvementsis to render the diaphragm-like roof wall ofthe thin metallic cap sufliciently stili and rigid for :its-

izontal disposition of rthe diaphragm-like roof t wall of Athe cap in .order to conserve vertical The small vertical height which -isavailable prohibits forming the cap into a dome-.like shape for strengthening such roof wall.

A related object is to prevent buckling of said o retainingpockets before centrifugal force, result,-

ing .from gyratorymovement of the disk, shall have urged such foreign substances asfar Aoutward as the edge of the disk.

.The foregoing and related objects of theinVen- .tion will become clear from the following de- .scription of a preferred form of the -present improvements Ain which .description reference is made to the Vaccompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. 1 Vis a plan View smaller than actual size looking downwardronagas meterbf the Sprague /meter showing certain of the interior construction andl parts in section on the plane 2 2 in .Fig..1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of `the composite valve disk -embodying .the `present.improvements removed from .the meterof Fig. 1 and drawngon a .scale-larger than the preferred actual size. f

Fig. A4 isa VView taken-in section on the -plane yll--lt inFig. 3,.,showing in broken lines the crank by whichthe valvedisk Ais gyrated.

In'Figs. 1.and2 the typicalparts of -a Sprague .type-ofgas meter correspond to those shown in .the .U. S. Patent N0. 722,390, granted to H. H.

Sprague, wherein the main casing I0 of the Vmeter .is capped by a hollow head structure II intoV which gas enters .through suitable piping (not shown) connecting with inlet I2, .and out of `which gas departs through suitable piping (not shown) connecting with outlet I3. Within the head I I suitable mechanism I4, which it will not here be necessary -to describe in detail, connects with and operatesv the register I5 ofthelmeter.

Such register will be understood to include the usual dials and movable pointers which indicate the amount of gas that has passed through the meter. A crank-like finger I8 projects from the mechanism I4 in the path of gyratory travel of upstanding boss head I9 which forms a part of Composite disk 2G includes a at faced ring 2| of glass whose bottom surface is finely ground to make a sliding gas tight seal with the co'v planar top seat edges of interjoined upstanding partition walls 22 which separate, and border` around, the mouths 23 of various passageways 24. These passageways are in free communication with various measuring chambers such as 21 in the meter casing I0, which chambers are separated by reciprocative flexible diaphragms such as 28.

Centrally of the meter casing I there is xed a vertical bearing bracket 29 in which is journaled a vertically extending shaft 3|), only the upper end of which is shown in Fig. 2 as carrying the crank larm 3| whose free end carries the upstanding crank pin 32.v This pin pivotally env gages within a downwardly opening socket 33 in the composite valve disk indicated as a whole by over the edge of the disk and thus becoming deposited on the top edge seats of the partition walls because an accumulation thereof would impair the gas tight seal which must always be maintained between these edges and the bottom surface of the gyratory glass ring 2|.

To accomplish these objects I have embossed one or more depressions in the diaphragm-like wall 38 between boss 34 and the rim 43 disposed to extend about the former. Specifically herein, these curved embossings are illustrated as one or more concentric corrugations, 4I and 42 which form ring-like troughs. Whether or not circularly complete, these corrugations are found to add to the rigidity with which boss 34 is held in relation to the apertured disk body 2| and they also serve as separate annular catch pockets for oil precipitated upon the roof wall 38 of the cap or dropped thereupon or conducted thereto from the mechanism I 4 along the crank finger I8.

I further indent the material of cap 31 to form an upstanding bead 44 herein illustrated as circular and of greater circumferencerthan either example of such meter mechanism is shown in a copending application of Arthur S. McIntire, Serial No. 219,851,

'Ihe present improvements are specifically concerned with the construction of the composite disk 2|) which produces advantages overk the construction shown in my aforesaid Patent No. 1,586,685.

As in my former said patent the glass ring 2| of this improved valve disk is topped by a thin sheet metal Vcap 31 having an upwardly dishedV central portion whose roof wall 38 spans the circular opening 39 in the glass ring 2| and supports centrally thereof the boss 34. The impelling force imparted to boss 34 by the crank pin 32 brings into play a tendency of the roof wall 33 to warp or distort when the cap 31 is made of thin enough metal to be desirably light in weight. Nevertheless, there is not room below the register driving mechanism I4 to impart a dome-shape contour to the roof wall 38 for strengthening it and it is undesirable to add extra parts for purposes of reinforcement since this complicates the structure and increases the weight of the composite disk. It is of lgreat importance to keep the disk weight as light as possible in order to minimize wear and the retarding effect of friction between the bottom surfaces of the glass ring 2| and the top edge seats of partition walls 22 upon which said ring rides with its weight supported thereon. Another problem to be solvedV is the retention of oil and dirt which may drop on the valve disk from mechanism I4 or be precipitated thereupon from the gas owing through the meter head I I. Such oil and foreign matter must be prevented from working radially outward and then downwardofthe corrugations 4| orf42 and surrounding the latter. Bead 44 is proximate the peripheral edge of the disk andV serves to guard against deposits of oil or foreign substances which may have escaped vthe corrugations 4|, 42,'or which may have become deposited originally on the cap radially outside the latter, from working outward and reaching the peripheral edge of the cap under the urge of the centrifugal force set up by the gyratory movement of the disk.

It will be noted that the peripheral edge of the rink like body 2| has a cross sectional contour in a diametral plane as viewed in Fig. 4 which is convexly arched and thereby imparts a crown shape to such edge, and that cap 31 is provided with a down-turned rim 43 which is spun or otherwise forced into close hugging or mechanical holding conformity with such convexly arched contour of the crown-shaped edge. For further insuring absolute xity of cap 31 in relation' to the ring body 2|, suitable kinds of cement which will be chemically impervious to all ingredients of the gas passing through the meter may be applied between the cap and the top surface of the ring body before they are mechanically assembled.

The operation of a valve disk embodying the present improvements has been explained in connection with the foregoing description of the novel features of the construction. The Yfollowing claims will be understood as directed to and intended to cover all fair equivalents ofthe particular parts and details of construction herein kchosen to illustrate a preferred form of the invention.

I claim:

1. In a valve disk structure for gas meters adapted to'perform edgewise gyratory movement in a' horizontal plane, at least one trough sunk in the top surface of said structure extending Yabout the center of said disk forv trapping foreign substances and preventing said substances from being forced outward by centrifugal force to the peripheral edge of said disk.

2. In a valve disk structure for gas metersV f about the center of said disk in radially differing relationship for trapping foreign substances at different radial distances and thereby preventing them from being flung outwardly by centrifugal force to the peripheral edge of said disk.

4. A composite valve disk adapted to perform gyratory movement edgewise for opening and closing valve ports, embodying in combination, a self rigid valve body containing a central aperture, a cap of relatively thin sheet-like material overlying and fixed on the top face of said body having a diaphragm-like portion spanning said aperture, a boss carried by said diaphragm-like portion adapted to be actuated fo-r impelling said composite valve disk to perform its said movements, and a circuitous trough indented in said diaphragm-like portion of the cap extending about said boss for catching and retaining vagrant oil or foreign substances deposited on the top of said cap in the vicinity of said boss.

5. A composite valve disk adapted to perform gyratory movement, edgewise for opening and closing valve ports, embodying in combination,

a self rigid valve body containinga central aperture, a cap of relatively thin sheet-like material overlying and fixed on the top face of said body having a diaphragm-like portion spanning said aperture, a boss carried by said diaphragm-like portion adapted to be actuated for impelling said composite valve disk to perform its said movements, and a plurality of corrugations comprising separate concentric circular troughs surrounding said boss formed in said diaphragmlike portion of the cap in a manner to stiffen the support of said boss with respect to said valve body and to trap vagrant oil and foreign substances for preventing them from reaching the outermost circumferential rim of said cap.

6. A composite valve disk adapted to perform gyratory movement edgewise for opening and closing Valve ports, embodying in combination,

a self rigid valve body containing a central aperture, a cap of relatively thin sheet-like material overlying and fixed on the top face of said body having a diaphragm-like portion spanning said aperture, a boss carried by said diaphragm-like portion adapted to be actuated for impelling said composite valve disk to perform its said movements, a circuitous bead embossed upwardly in the material of said cap proximate the radially outermost rim thereof in a manner to form a completely surrounding retaining ridge for preventing vagrant oil or foreign substances lodged on the top of said cap from reaching said rim of the cap.

7. A composite disk for opening and closing valve ports in a gas meter, embodying in combination, a self rigid circular valve body having a top face surrounding a central aperture in said body and having a peripheral edge whose cross sectional contour in a diametral plane is convexly arched thereby to impart a crown shape to said edge, a cap of sheet-like material overlying the top face of said body having a corrugated central diaphragm-like portion spanning said aperture and a downward turned rim portion shaped to conform to the convexly arched contour of said edge in a manner closely to hugV the latter thereby to interlock mechanically therewith.

8. A composite disk for opening and closing valve ports in a gas meter, embodying in combination, a self rigid circular valve body having a top face surrounding a central aperture in said body and having a peripheral edge whose cross sectional contour in a diametral plane is convexly arched thereby to impart a crown shape t0 said edge, a cap of sheet-like material overlying the top face of said body embodying a dished member including a circularly corrugated central roof wall portion joined to and axially offset from a circularly corrugated mounting wall portion bordering said roof wall portion and having a downwardly turned rim portion shaped to conform to the convexly arched contour of said edge in a manner closely to hug the latter thereby to interlock mechanically therewith.

GEORGE H. MOLDEN. 

